The Courts
Which general district court hears a traffic charge in Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William or Alexandria, and what that court does with it.
4 guides
Virginia has no court called "traffic court." Under § 16.1-123.1 of the Code of Virginia the general district court of the city or county where the offense happened has exclusive original jurisdiction over every traffic infraction and misdemeanor arising there — so "Fairfax traffic court" means the Fairfax County General District Court, and "Arlington traffic court" means the Arlington General District Court. Those courts each run a traffic docket, and that docket is what people are looking for.
Two things move a case somewhere else. A driver under 18 goes to the juvenile and domestic relations district court instead (§ 16.1-241). And a district court is not a court of record (§ 16.1-69.5), so an appeal does not review what the first judge did: § 16.1-136 gives the circuit court a completely new trial, as if the first one had never happened.
Each page below names the court, says which localities it covers, explains what happens on a traffic docket there, and links to the court's own page for the address, hours, telephone numbers and payment arrangements — the details that change without notice.
All guides
- Fairfax County, VA Traffic Court: The General District Court
Fairfax County VA traffic court is the General District Court: what it hears, what it costs, how to ask for a continuance and how a 10-day appeal works.
- Manassas General District Court and the Prince William Docket
The general district court in Manassas VA is the Prince William court: which three localities it covers, what its traffic docket does and what a case costs.
- The General District Court in Arlington, VA: How a Ticket Is Heard
The general district court in Arlington VA hears every traffic charge written in the county: what it does with one, what it costs and how appeals work.
- Alexandria, VA General District Court and Its Traffic Docket
The Alexandria VA General District Court hears every traffic charge written in the city — a city that sits in no county at all. What a case there costs.